August 07, 2023 11:48 AM UTC

Democrats' GVP Measures Become Reality (Almost?)

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Or, maybe not all of them. As The Denver Post reports:

A new law restricting gun purchases to people 21 and older is not in effect while a broader lawsuit challenging its constitutionality plays out, a district court judge ruled Monday afternoon.

In granting the preliminary injunction, District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer said Gov. Jared Polis “failed to meet his burden to demonstrate that SB23-169 is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation.” The individual plaintiffs, he added, “have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits” of their case.

The lawsuit challenged the age limit law as well as another measure that would institute a waiting period for all firearm purchases in the state. The age limit law went into effect Monday. The judge did not rule on the waiting period law, which is slated to go into effect in October.

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Elections have consequences.

This is a mantra we repeat often in this space, but it’s not always for bad reasons. For example, as Charles Ashby reports for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Coloradans now have greater protections against gun violence thanks to the work of Democrats at the state legislature and Gov. Jared Polis:

Unless otherwise exempted, people age 21 or younger will no longer be allowed to purchase a firearm, under a new law that goes into effect on Monday.

That controversial new law, which all Republicans in the Colorado Legislature opposed, is designed to help protect children from harm.

“Gun deaths in Colorado have been climbing higher and higher every year, and a disproportionate number of them are committed by younger Coloradans,” said Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, who introduced Senate Bill 169 with Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, and Reps. Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, and Eliza Hamrick, D-Centennial…

…Danielson said that people between the ages of 12 to 24 make up one-fifth of the state’s population, but account for half of all gun murders.

Democrats also cited research by the pro-gun law group Everytown for Gun Safety, which says that suicide by firearms among people 21 and younger has increased more than 60% over the past decade.

Exceptions to the new law include an active duty member of the U.S. armed forces while on duty, a peace officer serving with or employed by a law enforcement agency, but only while on duty, and anyone certified by the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which can include people who are not peace officers.

Senate Bill 169 was one of several significant gun violence prevention measures that sailed through the state legislature in 2023 with meek and ineffective opposition from groups like Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (though RMGO is trying, again, to use legal measures to stop the implementation). Also included on the Democrats’ list was an expansion of Colorado’s successful “red flag” program, which helps to temporarily remove firearms from people believed to be an immediate risk to themselves or others.

Pieces of legislation involving a new three-day waiting period for delivery of a purchased firearm also start to take effect today, though the full impact of House Bill 1219 won’t be felt until the law is implemented in full on Oct. 1. That same day, Senate Bill 168 will also take effect, eliminating some of the current hurdles for victims of gun violence who try to sue gun manufacturers and others involved in the firearm industry.

During the 2022 election cycle, Democrats made it a priority to tell voters about their commitment to gun violence prevention measures. Voters agreed with that plan, awarding Democrats the largest supermajority in modern Colorado history, and the Democratic trifecta (State House, State Senate, and Governor) got right to work on fulfilling those promises.

Democrats made it all happen in about eight months. Colorado will be safer as a result.